Long Term Arrival: 2007 Mini Cooper S

All grown up, but still cheek-pinchable cute

Mini's German master, BMW, opted for an evolutionary approach with the 2007 MINI Cooper -- making it slightly bigger and safer, adding features, and upgrading mechanicals. So how much has it really changed? We had to find out.

With a Laser Blue metallic ($450) sprayed 2007 MINI Cooper S as our palette, we did what some 60 percent of Mini buyers do-customize. Starting at the $21,850 MSRP, we piled on a heaping helping of options, including: leather steering wheel ($350); comfort access system ($500); center armrest ($200); heated front seats ($270); automatic A/C ($300), and an upgraded sound system ($550). Add to that such bigger-ticket items as the Sport Package ($1400), which comes with 17-inch alloys, Dynamic Stability Control and Xenon headlamps, the available six-speed automatic ($1350), and the navigation system ($2100), and we ended up at $29,320.Yep, almost 30 large for a Mini. Pick the standard manual (we know, deduct enthusiast cool points for the auto) and drop the nav, you're under 26 grand. Still pricey, but when you consider some of the standard equipment -- a new, 1.6-liter, 172-horsepower turbocharged mill, MacPherson-strut front, multilink rear suspension, six airbags, traction control, and three brake-control systems -- its sticker makes more sense.After its break in, we took our car out for a proper flogging, recording a 0-to-60 time of 6.2 seconds and a quarter mile in 14.8 at 92.1 mph, which interestingly is a couple ticks quicker for both times than the manual-equipped model we tested in last month's issue.The new Mini's interior features updated versions of the now-familiar center-mounted, dog-dish speedometer and gated switches. Add to that a quirky, circular key fob, push-button start, steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, and a small stalk located behind the shifter that controls functions housed within the speedo (iDrive Jr.?). Push the sport button, and the six-speed slushbox's shifts get more aggressive.From the driver's seat, the cabin looks and feels more substantial than the outgoing model's, but make no mistake, the Mini is still mini -- especially behind the front seats. But like just about every new model today, the car has grown up. We'll see in the year ahead if that turns out to be a good or bad thing.